The Face of Beauty To Fall For
by Sherlocked Pandorica
Summary: After Bella's disappearance and assumed death, the Cullens decide to move away from Forks to help Edward try to get over losing her. But Alice has a vision of someone new that needs their help. AU post book one
1. Hand On The Trigger, Ready To Ignite

The day was a normal, gloomy day as I pulled into the parking lot of Peninsula High. I was already bummed at having to quit my extracurriculars for a job and the clouds threatening to open and drown me didn't help any.

I begrudgingly peeled myself off the cracked pleather seat of my outdated Chevy Malibu, and headed for the side gym entrance. There was about ten minutes until classes started and I had just enough time to tell Coach Jacobson that I was quitting.

As quietly as I could, I slipped into his office. "Hey Coach." I said nervously, scuffing my worn down Converse on the old and dingy linoleum floors.

"Travers! What can I do for you?" Coach asked excitedly, thinking I was going to give him an idea to help us win the big game against Gig Harbor on Friday.

"Well, as you know, my dad's leaving for Iraq in a week and he doesn't want me to be totally dependent on our country's government for finances." I explained, much like my father had done to me earlier that morning. "So I start my new job soon." I added, hoping to prolong the inevitable let down.

"Well congratulations, Travers. It's good that you're taking innitative off the field." He told me with a smile.

"However, it's going to interfere with my extracurriculars, so my father said I had to give them up." I told him quietly, looking down.

He was silent for a moment before he erupted into laughter. "Good one, Travers, now get to class." He said, holding his stomach and still chuckling slightly.

"Coach, I'm not kidding." I stated seriously. Letting him down easily was going to be harder than I thought. "I have to quit, sir. I can't hold a job, take honors courses, and do sports. I'm sorry." I told him, walking out.

"But what about Gig Harbor?!" He called after me, upset.

I kept walking to keep from crying. The one thing I could count on, no matter where my dad hauled me too, was baseball. I was even lucky enough to get put on the men's team at this school, whereas I'd have to play softball and the girls teams were never as aggresive enough for me.

I was so caught up in my thoughts of my loss of happiness that I barely noticed someone in my desk when I got to class. I say barely because when I sat on them, I noticed.

I leapt from the desk and nearly threw myself across the room in shock. "What are you doing in my seat?" I asked, holding my hand over my heart.

"It seems like you came in too late and your seat was given to me." He said smartly, not bothering to look up at me.

I frowned and sat in the back of the class, leaning against the wall.

"Miss Travers, what are you doing?" Ms. Davies asked from her desk.

"You gave away my desk." I explained, indicating the boy inhabiting said chair.

It wasn't until just then I noticed him as a being rather than an obstruction. He had thick bronze hair, ivory pale skin, and a frown that would make God cry.

That look alone made it seem as though all happiness was gone from the world and I nearly ran to him and hugged him happy. Fortunately for me I wasn't very impulsive, so I just took to staring at him with a sad expression of my face. At least until the girl sitting next to him, who I assumed was his sister by the same paleness and their body language, leaned over and whispered something into his ear.

His frown quickly turned into a glare directed right at me, and the world's happiness was transformed into the deepest pit of hell.

At that point I knew my high school career was going to suck.

First period finally ended with not a single word from the hateful boy. His sister, however, answered every question asked as though she had been there to ask Chaucer herself.

I didn't care about that, though. I was more absorbed in trying to ignore the pretty guy that had stolen my desk, but he kept casting dirty looks at me, so I found it rather impossible to do so.

I was glad to be out of that classroom, and away from the evil looks. Unfortunately, the powers that be had it in for me that day and he, his sister, and two other relatives of his were all in my Calculus class.

And the glaring continued. I very nearly asked his sister what I'd done, but I was too worried that she carried the same hatred gene, so I stayed silent.

Another hour passed with all three of the evil boy's family answering the problems the teacher gave without so much as a thought. This time between classes, though, his sister caught up with me.

She smiled at me, "Hello. I'm Elizabeth Cullen." She explained.

I looked at her strangely for a second. "Ember Travers." I replied, smiling a little.

"So what class do you have next?" She questioned, still giving me a smile that made me slightly edgy.

"Ecology." I told her.

"Me too! Cristophsen?" She pressed.

"Yeah." I told her, feeling a little more at ease when the other male relative of hers from our math class passed behind me.

"Mind if I walk with you?" She asked kindly.

"Not at all." I stated, heading towards class. "So you don't hate me then." I noted with a slight smirk.

She stared at me like I'd grown a second head. "Why would I?"

I shrugged, "Your brother seems to."

She rolled her eyes, "Edward hates everyone. He's a very crabby individual." She smirked slightly, regardless. "Why? Do you like him or something?"

"No!" I replied a little too quickly for my taste. How could I like someone I had barely spoken to and that hated me more than anyone I've known? "I just like knowing why I keep getting hateful death glares when I didn't do anything."

"He's just juvenille. He'll get over it." She told me, sitting next to the same guy from earlier. "This is my adopted brother, Jasper Hale. Jasper, this is Ember Travers." She introduced.

"Hi." Jasper said with a smile.

"Hello." I said, trying not to stare at his flawlessness.

"Miss Travers! Sit down. This isn't a social gathering." The teacher sniped, walking into the room.

I sighed and trudged to my seat, groaning inwardly when I noticed my lab partner.

I sat and took out my notebook, writing the lecture notes from the board.

"I'm not happy about this either, so you stay away from me and I'll stay away from you, and everything will be fine." Edward whispered to me, never once turning his head to even really recogize my existence. If I hadn't have known he was speaking to me, I would've assumed he was just talking to himself.

"Fine." I agreed sourly, looking around to find someone to be partners with, but was already writing down the seating chart.

"And Ember... stay away from my family." He added in a warning tone.

I rolled my eyes and kept my mind on my work instead of how bad I wanted to punch this kid.

"By the end of the semester, class, you'll be giving a presentation on one species of wildlife or flower. It's a group project so you and your lab partner will have to work together." He told us right before the bell rang. "And I want the subject a week from today." He called as we filed out of the room.

See. I told you the powers hate me. I HAD to spend time with the boy who hated my existence.

I hurried out of the classroom, wanting to get into the cafeteria before any of the good tables were taken and I HAD to sit with someone. Luckily, I found a place and just kept to myself.

"Travers!" Malcom Walker, the back-up pitcher called, walking up to me. "Coach told me you were quitting the team." He said simply.

I looked up at him. "Yeah. I can't juggle work, baseball, and school. I don't want to let the team down, but my hands are tied."

"Bullshit! You're just afraid to choke like you did last time." He said, rolling his eyes.

"I didn't choke, Walker. And it's not like you care. You get to be starter." I said, glaring at him.

He scoffed, "I don't know why Coach even put you on the team. You're not good." He spat.

I was up before I could stop myself, one fist gripping his shirt, the other ready to break his nose.

"And here I was thinking you were a big, dumb girl." Elizabeth said, sitting in the chair to my right, a muscular guy walking up with her and sitting to my left. His eyes challenging Walker to do something.

He pulled free of my grip and straightened. "This isn't over, Travers." He said darkly, walking away.

I sat down and looked at them both gratefully. "Thanks. I would've been expelled for what I would've done to that guy." I said, looking from the silent guy to my left to Elizabeth. "Who's he?"

"This is my older brother, Emmett. He likes altercations, so he followed." She explained, picking at the lining of the table.

I smiled at him, "Hi." I said. "Isn't Captain Crab gonna be pissed at you for talking to me?"

Emmett looked at me strangely.

"Edward." Elizabeth told him.

He smirked at the nickname and nodded, glancing over to his brother, who was angrily stabbing at the jello on his plate with a spork. "He hates life." He said.

"So I hear, but he told me to ignore him and you guys."

"He's not our boss. We can talk to whomever we want." Elizabeth stated, scowling.

"I'm sure Emmett can take him." I said playfully.

"Elizabeth would before I did. She's really evil." He teased.

"Shut up, Emmett." She said half-heartedly.

"Anyway, how many of you Cullens are there?" I asked conversationally.

"Well, there's technically four of us: Emmett, Edward, Alice, and me. But our adoptive mother, Esme, had adopted Rosalie and Jasper before she married Carlisle, our adoptive father." Elizabeth shared.

"And then there's Zachary." Emmett spoke up, smiling at his sister. "He's Liz's guy. He just showed up and never left."

I laughed and stood when the end of lunch bell rang. "What class do you have next?" I asked them.

"We both have gym." Emmett supplied, standing as well.

"I'm starting to think your family's stalking me." I joked, heading to class with my new friends.


	2. Yeah, You've Been Alone

Gym sucked. Well, it sucked less than usual because we played baseball, but it was bad.

I'll explain.

Elizabeth and Emmett, because they were new, didn't have to dress out with the rest of us.

And I, being the starting pitcher for our school's male varsity team, was subjected to being pitcher and batter for both teams to make it fair.  
It was also good that Edward wasn't in this particular class, although it didn't really stop me from thinking of him. I totally blame Elizabeth for that. I don't know how, but I'm sure it was her fault.

At the end of the class, I had knocked the wind out of two girls I didn't like, and cursed out the boy playing catcher.

"How did you manage only one day of suspension?" Elizabeth asked, heading to Italian with me, while Emmett headed in a different direction, after congratulating me on a good game.

"The principal was my gymnastics coach until she got promoted. " I explained, sitting at one of the tables.

"Jasper's my Italian partner!" She shouted suddenly, tagging him as he passed through the door.

And then I found out why: Edward was in this class as well, and everyone else was paired off.

I gave Elizabeth and extremely nasty look and pulled my Italian book from my bag, muttering profanities under my breath.

"I thought I said to stay away from my family." He stated irritably.

"I fail to see how it's any of your business who I hang out with, Cullen." I told him.

He muttered a profanity in Italian.

I opened my mouth to say something to him, but luckily the teacher asked me to say a phrase.

"Mi spiace, ma Io non penso." I recited, turning to Elizabeth.

"You really are evil." I muttered, to which I recieved a smile.

"You know you like him." She whispered.

He must've heard her, because he stood, pulled my chair to where his used to be, and proceeded to separate us with his person.

"Great." I muttered, "Now I'm stuck with no way to vent my frustration."

He made a noise low in his throat that sounded like a growl and traded places with Jasper for the day.

"Sorry about him." He apologized. "He has a lot of issues he needs to work out." He told me, smiling.

I blushed slightly at his smile, damn stupid teenage hormones, and nodded. "Is he gay?"

That simple question made Elizabeth snicker, and she was nearly pushed off her chair by Edward.

She glared and swung at him, the other dodging the blow.

He stood quickly to continue the fight, his eyes narrowed dangerously in an unspoken challenge.

"Edward and Elizabeth Cullen! Principal's office! Now!" Mrs. Campenelli barked, pointing to the door.

Elizabeth glared at her brother, "We'll finish this at home, Cullen." She told him dangerously, shoving him and walking out of the room.

I looked at Jasper. "He's a very hostile person." I stated.

He nodded in agreement, "It was better for those two to fight than you and him." He said matter-of-factly.

"I could've taken him." I said simply, smiling a bit.

He smirked a little and said nothing more on the subject.

Jasper and I sat the rest of the class in silence, standing and saying our goodbyes once the bell had rung.

"I'll see you tomorrow." I told him, heading in the direction of my last class of the day.

I stopped and turned to face him. "Are you following me?" I questioned, sort of annoyed and flustered at the same time.

"No." He told me simply. "My class is this direction." He explained, passing by me.

I walked with him, "What class do you have?"

"Room 114. Study Hall with Ms. Davis."

"I really am starting to think your family's stalking me." I joked.

"Yes. We're a bunch of devil worshippers and you're going to be our sacrifice to the Dark One." Emmett supplied, setting his books on a desk next to a pretty blonde girl.

I laughed, sitting in a desk in the back.

"What are you doing back there?' Elizabeth asked from her seat next to her older brother.

"I figured your family would want a break from me." I said, shrugging.

"We do." Edward snipped, sulking in a corner.

I rolled my eyes and ignored him. "Oh! Elizabeth. What happened with the principal?"

She shrugged, "We got one day suspension for almost fighting."

Edward's expression got even more sour, if that were possible.

"Carlisle won't be too happy, but luckily I'm staying with my new friend, Ember, tonight and tomorrow, so I don't have to incur his wrath." She added.

I looked up from my foreign language homework. "I'm sorry?" I asked, confused.

"See, Liz. You can't invite yourself to people's houses." A boy told her. "It's rude."

"Well, Zachary," She started. "I would rather not have to share a house with Cullen." She let him know.

I spoke up, "I don't have a problem with it. My dad's staying in the barracks on base, so it'd be lonely in the house anyway."

Zachary looked at her, his eyes converying both love and concern. "What about your impulse problem?' He asked, so softly I barely heard it.

"As long as she has no open wounds, I won't have an issue. Plus, you can check on me whenever you want." She said, kising his cheek.

I smiled at them. "Have you two been together long?"

She smirked, "Seems like a lifetime."

He smiled, "And it will be another lifetime, and another." He said, pulling her into his lap.

"Zachary Baker, I am not one of those women, now let me go." She commanded, making no attempt to remove herself from his lap.

"What are you gonna do? Hit me?" He teased, smirking.

She scowled. "Shut up."

I shook my head at them and went back to my homework, waiting for the bell to ring as I continued to listen to their playful banter.


	3. Wasted All Your Time

As soon as I got home, I let Doc into the house and went straight out to the garage. It had been a whole twenty-four hours since I'd been able to work on my car and I was starting to be antsy.

I turned on the stereo and grabbed my tools, laying on the creeper before sliding underneath the front of the car.

"Nice car." An amused voice said above my head.

"Jesus!" I yelled, lifting my head and slamming my forehead against the front differential. "Fuck!" I screamed, letting my head fall back against the head rest as my hand went up to rub my sore forehead.

Something caught me behind my ankle and pulled me from under the car. "Ember?" The same voice asked, kneeling next to me.

I looked up through my blurred vision to see the face of Edward Cullen.

I jumped up, forgetting the pain in my head. "What the hell are you doing in my house?" I asked, feeling something wet slide down my forehead. I reached up to wipe it and looked at my fingers. "Great… I'm--"

"Liz!" A second male voice called and I saw Zacky pulling Elizabeth from the room in almost a blur.

I looked at the last two remaining Cullens in the room with me. The looks on their faces made me afraid for reasons I didn't understand.

"Come on, Ember… Let's get that cleaned and patched up." Edward said in an extremely strained voice.

"What's going on? It's just a cut. I can handle it." I said, glaring at him and storming into my house.

I walked to the bathroom and pulled out the first aid kit. I hissed as the peroxide hit the cut.

"You can't possibly see the wound well enough to clean it." He said, sitting me on the toilet and cleaning my wound.

"Why do you even care, Cullen? You did it." I said bitterly, wincing when he touched the gauze to my cut.

"I feel guilty." He said, cleaning it as quickly as he could and covering it.

"Yeah, well you should." I said harshly, standing and putting everything away. "You're a total asshole, by the way." I said, walking out of the room and back into the garage.

"I know." He replied, following after me.

I sighed heavily. "Hello, Alice." I said, seeing her dancing to the music coming from the stereo.

"Hello, Ember." She told me with a smile. "I like this song. Who is it?"

"The Matches." I told her. "It's a song called Chain Me Free."

She looked at Edward, "I want this CD."

He nodded, "We'll get it when we leave." He told her.

She smiled at him and kept dancing.

I watched in awe, she was unnaturally graceful as she moved around the garage. "You're good." I said, breaking out of the trance I had been in.

She just smiled. "Thank you." She told me politely, as Zacky and Elizabeth walked into the garage.

"My apologies." Zacky said.

"Yeah… Sorry about that, Ember.. I get sick when I'm around blood. Zacky pulled me out before I threw up all on the floor and everywhere." She said, looking worried.

I nodded, "It's okay. No worries." I said, looking at Edward. "What are you doing here anyway?"

He gestured to the neat stack of books on the work desk across from us. "Chem project." He said simply.

Elizabeth smirked, "I think he came because he--"

"Finish that sentence Elizabeth, and you'll be dead." He said, glaring at her.

"I was just going to say that you came along because you wanted an A in Chem." She said, grinning at him.

Zacky coughed and the fight stopped before it started.

"That's just stupid." I said to him. "You could've at least basked/b first before you showed up." I said, scowling.

His eyes narrowed at me and he strode over, grabbing his books. "Fine. Sorry to have bothered you." He said sharply, heading out of the garage.

I silently fumed for a minute. "Zacky's staying?" I asked, looking at him.

"We both are." Alice said, hitting the back button until she got to Chain Me Free. "If that's alright, I mean." She said, glancing at me.

I nodded, "I'd love that." I told her, smiling at them.

"So… How about I order us some Thai and then we can figure out what to do." I suggested.

"Sure." Elizabeth said, smiling and heading inside.

"How did you guys get in, anyway?" I asked, grabbing the cordless phone off the wall in the kitchen in passing.

"The door was unlocked." Elizabeth said, looking through my DVD collection.

"Oh… I thought I locked it." I said, shrugging and dropping a menu on the table. "What do you guys want?"

"Nothing for us. We ate before we came." Alice said, picking a movie before Elizabeth could.

"Oh… Okay." I said, ordering for myself and hanging up. "So… What do you guys wanna do tonight?"


	4. We've All Been Lost

Around three movies after my Thai arrived and I had eaten, we started playing Dance Dance Revolution. And as I assumed before that, Alice beat everyone.

"I feel inept." I said, laying on the floor, breathing heavily from playing on the hardest level minutes before.

"That's okay. So do we." Elizabeth said, scowling a little at her sister.

"Sorry." She said, smiling apologetically and sitting next to them on the couch.

I opened my mouth to say something just as there was a knock on the door. Startled, I stood and grabbed the loaded pistol my dad kept in the kitchen drawer closest to the front door. I looked out the window and sighed, uncocking the gun and opening the door. "Hi Emmett."

"Hey there, Travers. Long time, no see." Emmett told me with a smirk, handing me a bottle of something that looked three times my age in passing.

"Thanks, Emmett." I said, setting it on the counter in the kitchen. "Nice of you guys to show up." I said, sitting back down on the couch next to my friends. "Jasper. Rosalie." I said in acknowledgement, waving at them. "Cullen… What are [b]you[/b] doing here?" I asked coldly.

"Yeah, well we decided that since Edward wouldn't shut up about how much he can't stand being around you, that we'd drag him along for the night." He said with a grin at his younger brother.

Edward gave Emmett a glare in return. "I didn't [b]choose[/b] to come back. I was forced." He stated.

"Unfortunately, I don't have room for all of you." I said, giving a pointed stare at Edward.

"Oh, that's okay. Zachary and I can have one of the rooms, Alice and Jasper can have the other, Emmett and Rosalie can be on the couch, and Edward can share your room." Elizabeth said with an evil grin.

"I think not." Edward and I said in unison, looking at each other with the same look of disdain before turning our heads away from each other.

"And you thought you two had nothing in common." She said, smiling at us.

"We don't!" We said again, glaring at each other.

"I'm going home." Edward spoke up, turning for the door.

I groaned inwardly, I hated being a nice person. "Don't leave… There's a futon in my dad's military room you can sleep on. It's stupid for you to leave." I told him.

He looked at me for a minute before sitting on the recliner nearest him. "Okay." He said reluctantly.

I smiled triumphantly.

Emmett looked at us. "So… what were you guys doing before we showed up?"

"Playing Dance Dance Revolution." Alice told him from her place on Jasper's lap.

"It was obviously the wrong game to challenge Alice on." Elizabeth spoke up.

"What should we do now?" I questioned.

"Got a deck of cards?" Emmett asked.

"Yeah, somewhere. Why?" I asked.

"Poker." He said. The entire crowd's eyes lighting up, even Edward's.

I nodded and walked over to the other side of the room, rummaging through a couple plastic bins stacked into the shelves on the wall and produced a deck of cards and poker chips. "Let's go sit at the dining room table." I suggested, leading the way there.

About an hour later, I was in the hole sixteen grand and I'd lost my first born child to Rosalie.

"I think I'm gonna quit while I'm behind." I said, throwing my cards onto the table and standing.

"Yeah, me too." Elizabeth said, doing the same.

I scoffed, "Whatever, dude. You're winning." I told her.

"I can still stop." She said, smiling.

I rolled my eyes. "So… it's kinda late." I told them.

They looked up at me.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed." I said, hoping they didn't think I was weird. But it [b]was[/b] four in the morning and I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open.

They all looked at each other.

"Right… us, too." Zachary said, yawning.

They all stood and headed into the living room. "You guys can choose whichever room you want. My dad's is that one." I said, pointing to the French doors leading into the master bedroom. "And the military room is the one in the hall to the right." I explained.

"We'll take that one." Emmett said, his arm around Rosalie's waist.

"If you guys need anything. My room's up the stairs in the garage." I told them, waving good night as I walked out, feeling eyes on me.

I closed the door and pulled on my pjs, putting my iPod on my sleep playlist. The first song playing being Losing My Religion by REM. I smiled and fell into a light sleep.


	5. Don't Take It Out On Me

The next morning, I awoke to Marilyn Manson's Personal Jesus blaring directly into my ear. I jumped up and screamed. "**Cullen! What the HELL are you doing in my room?!**" I screamed at him.

He smiled and turned the volume down on my iPod. "You said that you were up here if we needed anything, and I needed something." He said with a smirk.

Had I not been so pissed off at him, I'd have probably melted a little at that, but as it was, I didn't. I huffed, "I didn't think you would actually wake me up for it." I said, throwing a pillow at him as hard as I could.

He blocked it and kept smirking.

"_Well?_ What did you **need**?" I asked venomously.

His smirk faded. "I've forgotten."

"**OUT! GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM RIGHT NOW!**" I roared, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the door, pushing him roughly onto the landing and slamming the door shut in his face.

"That was rude." He said from the other side of the door, the lack of footsteps on the stairs making it quite obvious that he wasn't leaving.

"Are you just going to stand out there until I come out?" I asked, walking into the bathroom to turn the water on.

"I've brought a book and everything." He told me, the sound of rustling pages following.

I let out an angry growl and opened the door again. "Leave my house. NOW." I told him.

He looked up, having sat down on the landing. "I can't. There's only two vehicles here for my family and I to leave in, and if I take one, then they'll have no way home." He said, smiling at me.

My eyes narrowed angrily. "You didn't have a problem stranding them last night. Now go." I said, pointing down the stairs.

He gave me another smile and went back to reading his book.

I screamed in rage and slammed the door shut on him again. I was still fuming while I showered, dressed, put make up on, put my hair up, and threw on a hat.

"You are a plague, Cullen." I said, unsurprisingly opening the door to him reading.

He stood and stretched. "I like to think of myself as more of a pest, but thank you anyway." He said, walking down the stairs.

"You're lucky I can control myself or I'd have killed you by now." I told him, following him downstairs.

"Did you devirginize him, Ember?" Elizabeth asked from the couch.

I couldn't help but laugh at the amount of hatred that simple fact that brought into the glare aimed at her from Edward.

"By that look, I'm guessing no." She said, unphased.

I shook my head and went into the kitchen for some orange juice and some toast. I stopped dead when I saw the clock. "It's seven am?" I asked, looking at Edward with a whole new look of hate.

"Is it?" He asked, smirking again.

I grabbed the kettle from it's place on the stove and hurled it at his head, smiling with sick satisfaction when it came in contact with his head, the rest of his family looking at him.

Elizabeth didn't even care that her car crashed into the side of the wall on the video game she'd been playing.

He stood and grabbed the kettle, pulling his hand back to throw it at me.

"Edward!" Alice said, taking hold of his hand. "Don't.." She said, looking straight into his eyes.

His hand fell to his side, and the kettle clattered to the floor. He grabbed his jacket and keys and walked outside, slamming the door behind him.

I looked at them awkwardly. "He deserved it?" I offered.

"We know. It's been a long time coming." Elizabeth spoke up, starting the game over again.

Zachary gave her a scolding look and took the controller from her.

I grabbed my breakfast and took the seat Edward had been in. "Sorry guys. He just bothered me." I said, taking a bite of toast.

"He thinks that if he annoys you enough, you will end up hating all of us and not wanting to be our friend." Alice told me.

"It won't work, though. You love us." Emmett said, smiling at me.

I laughed. "I do love you guys. You're my first real friends since… ever really."

They smiled warmly at me.

I smiled back, "Hey, where's Doc?" I asked, looking around for my dog.

"I think he's at the door… He's kinda attached to Edward." Jasper said, looking over the back of the couch at the dog.

I sighed, "Just my luck."


	6. Forgotten Faces

A few weeks passed since I met the Cullens. I'd sit next to them -- mostly Edward since Elizabeth made him lab partners with me in almost every class -- during classes and at lunch, and only talk to them during Gym. They'd also gotten into the habit of staying over at my house on the weekends that they didn't go camping.

Well, the day before my birthday they'd gone out for an all-day hike with their mom and dad because the weather was nice, so I was sitting alone in all my classes, doodling on my notes. I heard someone clear their throat from beside me and I looked up to see my best friend, Salym Proctor.

"So, are you going to say hi to me?" She asked, annoyance plain on her face. "And tell me why you've totally been ignoring me for the past month and a half?"

"Say, I'm sorry. Hi." I said, smiling weakly.

"Don't you 'Say' me, Ember Marie." She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry. You were gone on that retreat thing, and they showed up." I explained.

"Yeah, whatever." She said, taking a deep breath. "I don't like them."

I scoffed, "You haven't even met them!" I said, putting my hand over my mouth when Ms. Davies gave us a look. "Sorry." I told her, dropping the pitch of my voice. "You haven't even met them." I said softer.

"I don't have to. They seem very dangerous." She told me, pushing her ebony hair behind her shoulder and looking toward the black board.

I scowled and turned back to my doodles.

When class was over, I caught her before she could escape to the other side of the building. "Say, what's your deal with the Cullens? They haven't done anything to you."

"They've taken my best friend, I think that's cause enough." She said, pulling her arm from my grasp.

I sighed, "I'm sorry, okay. They're just… my kind of people. I connect with them better than anybody in this whole school, except for you." I told her, the tone of my voice low like I was about to cry.

She sighed and slapped an envelope on top of the binder I was holding in my arms. "You better like this, bitch. I paid a lot of money for them." She told me, smiling a little.

I smiled back, her calling me a bitch was usually a sign that I was forgiven. I opened it and dropped my book, screaming like I'd been stabbed violently in the back. "YOU DID **NOT** GET ME BACKSTAGE PASSES TO THE 69 EYES!" I screamed, hyperventilating.

Ms. Davies ran out of the door we were standing near, "What's going on?! What's wrong?!" She asked panicked.

I looked up and blushed. "Sorry. I got my birthday present early." I told her, looking down at my shoes.

She put her hand over her heart and took a deep breath. "Oh my… Ember… You scared me. I thought something was really wrong." She told me, patting my shoulder. "Get to your next class girls." She told me.

Salym laughed at me. "It's for Saturday night." She said. "Be ready to go by noon." She told me, walking off in the opposite direction of me.

I grinned and grabbed up my stuff, walking to my next class, smiling excitedly.

Later that night, when the Cullens were hanging at my house, -- still looking like a bunch of movie star Frat and Sorority boys and girls even after hiking -- I flashed my pass to them. "Look!" I gushed.

Elizabeth looked over and smiled, "Sweet. The Eyes are awesome. Jussi's kinda blah, but the others are sweet."

I gaped at her, "You've met them?"

She nodded, "I dated Jussi for a bit--"

"No, she didn't. She's only ever date me." Zachary sniped, giving her a dirty look.

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "I love pissing you off. It's fun." She told him.

I rolled my eyes and showed Edward, who I'd grown to not loathe over the time.

He looked up and shook his head. "You're not going." He stated.

I gave him an 'I know you're not telling **me** what to do' face. "Excuse me?"

"You're not going. You won't be going anywhere near them alone." He said simply.

"And [I]who[/I] died and made you my boss?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

He smirked softly and looked at the others for help. "It's not safe for you, is all." He told me.

I glared at him, "Cullen, what the **FUCK** do you know?" I asked.

"More than you think." He told me seriously.

I balled my fists and took deep breaths to calm myself. "**Why can't I go?**" I questioned through gritted teeth.

"It's dangerous. They're not nice people." He told me.

I made an angry sound and went out to the garage, blaring the CD that I had in at the time -- which happened to be Vains of Jenna. I almost smiled at the appropriateness of the song blasting from the stereo. "So you're looking for an enemy? You've found an enemy in me." I muttered, laying on my creeper and sliding under the car to do something to calm my frustration.


	7. We Come Out At Night

Edward walked into the garage after an hour, and the only reason I knew that is because he turned my music down and that made me look up from what I was doing to the engine of my car. "I'm sorry." He started. "It was rude of me to just tell you that you can't go to that show. I'm sure you're a big fan of theirs." He said.

I wiped my hands off and crossed my arms over my chest. "Keep going."

He looked at me, "I'm sorry?"

"I haven't decided if I'm going to forgive you yet. Keep going." I told him.

He sighed. "Perhaps you'd like to know the reason I objected to it." He said, settling himself on a stool near the work bench.

I nodded and sat down, cross legged on the creeper. "Go ahead."

He took a deep breath before starting. "I'm not sure you're going to believe what I'm going to say… Actually, I amend that, you're not going to believe what I say." He smirked and inwardly, I died a little.

I rolled my eyes at him, "Just tell me, Cullen. I have shit to do."

He responded by laughing, which wasn't something he usually did and it kinda threw me for a second. "You're so--"

"Amazingly awesome you can't stand it? I know."

He smiled and shook his head, "Let me finish my own sentences." He told me. "I was going to say, you're so annoying."

"I fail to see how this has to do with your telling me I can't go to see one of my favorite bands."

"I'm getting to that, if you would stop interrupting." He told me.

I mimed zipping my lips, locking them, and throwing away the key.

"Thank you." He said, bowing his head in a singular nod. "Now. How should I start?" He asked himself. "Alright. Maybe I should start with how I know the 69 Eyes are dangerous people."

I nodded to tell him to go on.

"Well, we've met up with them before." He said. "They were hunting on our territory… You see, Elizabeth was turned by their drummer, and that's how we'd first heard of them." He said.

My eyebrows narrowed in confusion, but I kept my mouth shut.

"We fought them off, but not after they'd taken several lives and turned the blame on us." He paused for a moment to look at me and then went back to the story. "Of course, we've followed them closely since then. They hunt by luring unsuspecting fans backstage before and after their shows. Then they burn the bodies, no one's the wiser."

This was the time I felt the need to speak up. "Hold up, Edward… What do you mean 'hunt'?"

"They're vampires." He said simply.

I laughed. "Of course they are. They're The Helsinki Vampires." I told him.

He shook his head at me. "No. You don't understand, Ember. They're actual vampires. They hide behind the delusion that they're just humans playing vampire."

I was still laughing slightly. "So, you're a vampire too? And Elizabeth?"

He nodded seriously. "All of our family."

I stood. "That's a good one, Edward. Thank you." I told him, picking up my wrench and leaning over the engine again. "If you're so worried about them snacking on my neck. Why don't you get backstage passes and come with me and Salym?" I asked.

"I will." He told me, walking fluidly to the door.

I smirked and followed after him, looking at Elizabeth. "So you're a vampire that was turned by Jussi 69?" I asked her conversationally.

She looked over at me, a brief flicker of fear in her eyes before giving an intense glare at Edward. "No… Cullen is just insane." She told me.

I nodded and took a sip of the water I got out of the fridge. "I thought so."

"We're going to the concert Saturday, Elizabeth. You, Emmett, Jasper, and I." Edward told her.

"I'll be going nowhere near them, thank you." She said.

"I'll go with you, Liz." Zachary spoke up from beside her.

She seemed to calm down a little at that. "Alright then, but not because I'm willingly going." She told him.

I grabbed the remote and turned on Nickelodeon, which happened to be playing Spongebob Squarepants. "Let's just forget this. It's my birthday tomorrow, I want it to be exciting!" I told them.

Rosalie smiled from next to Emmett on the floor in front of the couch, but said nothing.

"What?" I asked, the smile not going unnoticed by me.

"Nothing." She said, turning to the stupid cartoon.

I sighed. I hated when people did that.


	8. Shattered By Broken Dreams

_I walked down an aisle, dressed in a black dress and holding a blood red rose bouquet. While I walked, I noticed that the church was way too big for the few people in it._

_To the left of me: no one sat in the pews. To the right: The Cullens, plus a beautiful woman I'd never seen before._

_As I got to the alter, I passed Elizabeth my bouquet and smiled at Salym, who just scowled and tried not to attack any of my new friends._

_I supposed that she was annoyed because she was simply a bridesmaid and not my Maid of Honor -- the title that I'd given to Elizabeth._

_I looked up to finally see who I was marrying, my heart literally stopping when I noticed who was looking back at me. "Edward?" I asked in shock._

_"Why so surprised?" He questioned, taking my hands in his, and for once, his weren't icy._

_"I just… thought you hated me is all." I told him._

_He smirked and shook his head slightly at me, "Oh, Ember… Didn't you realize that it was all just a ploy? I was trying to deny my feelings for you by reacting the opposite of how I felt." He explained, bringing my hands to his lips and kissing them softly before bringing them back down to where they had been._

_I blushed, not feeling the normal heat in my face._

_"Shall we get this started?" A tall, beautiful blonde man questioned from the alter beside us._

_Edward nodded. "Whenever you'd like, Carlisle." He told the man._

_I looked down at our hands, seeing that mine no longer held the light olive tint it normally did, but were ivory just like the larger ones of the man across from me. "What's going on, Edward?" I asked._

_He stared at me curiously. "I don't understand."_

_"Why do I look like you now?" I questioned, somehow knowing that I wasn't myself._

_His smirk turning into a full on smile. "We were all trying so hard to protect you from this, but the only way I could protect you is to make you one of us." He said simply._

_"And what are you?" I asked._

_"Don't you remember?" He asked. "What we discussed." He reminded me._

_"I'm… a vampire?" I asked incredulously._

_He nodded. "This way, we can be together forever, Bella."_

_I stared at him in shock. "I'm not Bella." I said simply._

_Elizabeth and the rest of the Cullens looked shocked. The woman I'd never seen before, but somehow knew was named Esme looked in disappointment at her younger son. And Salym… she was enraged, quickly phasing to a wolf and snarling at Edward._

_I stepped between them immediately. "Say! Don't!" I screamed, holding my hands toward her._

_She shook her head at me and jumped at him._

I woke with a jolt, breathing heavily. I looked down at my hands to see that I was shaking.

I stood and headed for my bathroom, seeing that it was only a few minutes before I had to be ready for school anyway. I showered and dressed, looking out my window to see that it was overcast, yet again, and most likely cold outside.

I went downstairs and grabbed some toast and orange juice, throwing my school bag over my shoulder and grabbing my crappy car, car keys and headed out the front door, only to nearly ram into Edward Cullen.

"Oh… Sorry, Ember." He said, picking up my keys and my coffee thermos of O.J.

I took the toast from between my teeth and tried not to blurt out what I'd dreamed about to him. "Hi, Cullen. What are you doing here?" I asked.

He smiled and moved out of the way to show his family, all dressed in ski outfits and holding a large sign that said 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMBER!' in bright colours.

I grinned. "Oh… Guys, this is… wow, thank you." I said, excited about a surprise start to my morning. "But shouldn't we be getting to school? We're gonna be late if we leave any later than right now."

Elizabeth shook her head. "We're not going to school today. And neither are you." She said.

Alice floated over and handed me a bag. "Go put these on. We'll wait." She told me.

I looked at her oddly, and opened the bag to see a black and green ski outfit. "Oh… Oh, no… I'm not going skiing." I told them. "I'd die."

Emmett laughed. "Okay, Miss Baseball Star."

"No, I'm serious. I'm afraid of heights. Add two pieces of slick wood to the bottom of my feet and I'll have a panic attack." I told them, feeling the anxiety grow in my stomach as I spoke the words.

"We won't let anything happen to you." Edward spoke up.

I looked at him. "Promise?" I asked, feeling at ease when Jasper took a step forward, and I don't think it was because his proximity was comforting.

Edward nodded. "Scout's honor." He said, holding two fingers up in the Boy Scout salute.

I sighed deeply and walked back into the house, changing in the bathroom and walking back out. "Where are we going anyway?" I asked.

"Crystal Mountain." Emmett told me, climbing into the massive Jeep parked alongside a shiny Volvo in my driveway.

"Tacoma?" I questioned.

"We decided that it would be good for us to go there, seeing as how the concert is in Tacoma. We've booked rooms at the Alta Crystal Resort for all of us." Zachary spoke up, getting into the back of the Volvo.

I stood between the two cars as everyone was dividing between the two. "Where am I going?"

"Volvo. Front seat." Elizabeth told me, getting into the back.

I climbed in, buckling my seatbelt. "Who's driving?"

"I am." Edward stated, sliding into the driver's seat and starting the engine.

I sighed at the sound.

"What's wrong with you?" Elizabeth asked.

"I can't wait for my Charger to be finished. It would blow this car off the road." I told her.

Zachary laughed. "I want to see that."

I grinned. "I can take Cullen in a quarter mile."

Edward smirked, and I died a little again. "We'll see about that."

Later that night, once we'd gotten checked into our suites **("Oh… I'm so sorry, guys. It seems like I booked Edward and Ember into the Honeymoon cabin rather than Emmett and Rosalie." "Sure, Elizabeth. You're that forgetful.")** and I had my ankle bandaged from where I'd torn my Achilles tendon on the slopes, we were all huddled by the fire in Edward's and my suite.

"Are you going to speak to me?" Edward asked, annoyed.

I shook my head and turned back to my book.

Alice smiled at me. "Alright. It's time for your present!" She announced giddily.

I looked over at her, startled. "There's more to this fantastic day?" I asked, casting an angry look at Edward.

She nodded. "It's only one present, but there's a little bit of each of us." She explained, passing me a familiar powder blue box.

"You got me a present from Tiffany's?" I asked, staring at the box in my hand.

"Oh, just open it and freak out about it later." Elizabeth chimed in.

I slowly untied the bow and opened the lid, gasping slightly. "It's beautiful." I said, lifting the charm bracelet out of the box to examine each of the charms attached to it.

"The bracelet is from our father and mother." Rosalie said.

"That's Carlisle and Esme." I said, all of them looking at me like I'd spoken in tongues. I looked at them each in turn, realizing that I must've said something wrong. "That's their names, right?"

Jasper nodded. "How did you know that?" He asked in his mild southern accent.

I shrugged, "You must've said them before or something." I lied, reminding myself to think back to see if they actually had or not.

They all seemed to calm down at that, except for Edward and Alice, who gave each other a look and then looked at Elizabeth, who quickly shook her head.

I watched them curiously, but said nothing.

"The ballet shoe is from me." Alice said, breaking the awkward silence. "Because we both like to dance."

I turned my attention back to the bracelet I held. "Oh… It's beautiful. Thank you, Alice."

"And the flag is from me." Jasper added. "Because you're southern, and I'm southern. I thought it'd bring a little bit of home to you."

I nodded and smiled. "It does. Thanks."

"The speedometer's from me." said Rosalie. "Since we're car freaks."

"Cool." I said, genuinely.

"The baseball's mine." Emmett told me. "Pretty obvious why."

I laughed. "Yeah. It's cool."

"And since your favorite instrument is the guitar, and your favorite movie is Nightmare Before Christmas, Zachary and I got you charms of each." Elizabeth told me.

I looked at them. "Oh, awesome. Thanks."

"And the music note is from me." Edward added last.

I looked at it and smiled. "It's great. Really… The whole this is completely awesome." I told them honestly, fastening it around my wrist.

They all smiled at me and then one by one, stood.

"I think it's time for us to go to our own suites." Alice said, winking slyly at me.

"Yeah, and give you two lovebirds-- I mean, you two-- time to settle your arguments." Elizabeth said, grinning wickedly at us.

I gave her an extremely dirty look and went back to my book.

I didn't know they were gone until Edward cleared his throat from the couch across from me. I looked up at him. "Hello."

He smiled. "Hello."

Another long moment passed .

"So… anything you want to talk about?" He asked.

I chewed on my bottom lip and contemplated bring up my dream.

"What's wrong, Ember?" He asked.

I looked up at him. "Who's Bella?"

* * *

A/N: I have visual aides of Ember's house and her birthday presents. Just message me and I'll give you the links.


	9. The Art of Subconscious Illusion

He stared at me for several long moments, his eyes wide and it seems as though he wasn't blinking. "What?" He questioned, his voice barely a whisper.

"Bella. Who is she?" I repeated, putting my index finger between the pages of the book to mark my place.

He kept staring, making me a bit uncomfortable. "How do you know about her?"

I looked down for a minute, readjusting myself on the chair. "I… had a dream last night about… us. And you called me 'Bella'." I explained. "Now tell me who she is."

He stood and walked to the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" I asked, perturbed that he'd just up and leave in the middle of a conversation… Well, the beginning of a conversation.

"I'll be back soon. You should get to bed and rest your ankle or your friend will have paid for those tickets for nothing." He muttered, walking out.

I stared at the door for a good five minutes and decided to completely ignore his command by staying awake and reading more of my book. "Stupid delusional man." I muttered.

**[Elizabeth's POV]**

Zachary and I had just gotten dressed for bed (a habit we had never broken) when a knock on the door interrupted our only-behind-closed-doors affection (The G-Rated cuddles and such you perverts.)

Annoyed as all hell, I stood from the bed, flipped off the TV, and opened the door all within five seconds of the first knock. "**What**?" I asked, putting more emphasis on the 't' to make sure the person at the door knew how utterly pissed I was at them.

"What did you do?" Edward questioned angrily, storming in.

I turned and shut the door, crossing my arms over my chest. "Excuse me?" I asked, an eyebrow quirked.

"Why did you make her dream about Bella?" He asked, turning towards me.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I told him.

"Ember! She dreamt about me calling her Bella and I know you did it." He yelled.

My eyes narrowed at him. "I've done no such thing. You can ask Zachary. I was no where near Ember last night. And I wasn't even in range to make her think anything."

He looked at me, and then to Zachary. He huffed and slumped onto the chair next to the door.

"So she dreamt of Bella?" I asked, seeing the apology in his eyes when he looked up at me.

He nodded. "I don't understand how she could. No one's spoken of Bella around her."

I smirked. "Maybe she's like us." I suggested.

"That's helpful." He muttered miserably.

"It can happen, you know. We were all able to do it when we were human." I said, sitting on the bed.

He frowned. "Don't imply that she's going to be one of us." He said, frowning even more. "And stop thinking that it's inevitable. It isn't."

I glared. "Get out of my head, Cullen."

He stood and shook his head. "She asked me about Bella… What should I tell her?"

I shrugged. "The truth, maybe? That you loved her and she was killed."

He sighed and walked out, muttering a 'sorry' to me before closing the door behind him.

**[****Ember's POV****]**

I woke up the next morning in the bed, my foot elevated by a pillow and my arm around a very cold someone.

I snuggled up to the person for a moment before the sleep haze faded and my eyes opened. When I realized who it was, I all but flew out of the bed. "Jesus, Cullen! What's with you and scaring me to death when I first wake up?" I asked, my hand over my heart.

He rubbed his eyes and stretched, smiling a little. "Sorry. There was only one bed. And you had fallen asleep on the chair."

I frowned. "Why couldn't you sleep on the couch like a normal person?"

He feigned hurt. "You'd have me sleep on that uncomfortable thing when there's this bed up here?"

I grumbled something and went into the bag that they'd packed for me (I'm assuming they did it while we were hanging out the other night). "So that's where that shirt is." I said to myself, grabbing that and my jeans only to hobble into Edward when I turned around.

"Fuck me sideways!" I yelped. "Stop scaring me!" I yelled at him, hitting him in the stomach and hobbling around him.

"Sorry, Ember. It's just too fun." He said, following me to the bathroom.

I set my clothes on the counter beside the sink and turned to him. "Are you going to follow me into the bathroom?"

He nodded. "We are in the honeymoon cabin. What would the other guests here think if we didn't shower together?" He asked, flashing me one of his dazzling smiles.

I shook away the daze he'd put me in with the smile. "You are [b]not[/b] taking a shower with me, Cullen. Not only is that odd, but it's rather embarrassing." I told him. "You… are never seeing me naked. Ever. At all. Period." I said, pushing him out of the door and shut it in his face.

"Say!" I yelled from the spot on the floor where I was, waiting for her to get there so we could all go backstage together.

She walked over, her steps getting slower and her eyebrows getting closer and closer to each other as she neared us. "What are [b]they[/b] doing here?" She asked, growling low in her throat.

Elizabeth looked up from her 'exciting' game of Rock, Paper, Scissors with Zachary and Emmett to glare at Salym.

"They wanted to tag along. Edward wouldn't let me come unless he could supervise." I said, glancing up at said person and scowling slightly.

She rolled her eyes at my answer and shoved her hands in her pockets. "Well, come on. We're going to go backstage and meet them first." She told me.

I grinned and stood, putting too much pressure on my hurt foot and stumbled, being caught by Edward.

"Are you alright?" He asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, Cullen." I said, hobbling beside my best friend toward the back.

"I swear, if they make a scene, I'm going to kill them." She muttered to me as we flashed our passes to the security guard and started down the hallway. She turned to them. "How did you get passes anyway?" She asked, snidely.

Elizabeth scrunched her face at her. "I know Jussi." She told her, muttering something that sounded like 'mangy mutt' under her breath.

Say gave her a fierce glare and walked faster down the walkway.

"Where is she?" A deeply accented voice said before we'd gotten to the room labeled 'green room'.

Elizabeth muttered something and walked in first, Zachary following after her. "Hello, Jussi." She said.

Say and I exchanged looks and walked in together, my breath literally stopping when I saw that we were in a room with The 69 Eyes.

Jussi was standing in front of Elizabeth, grinning like the cat who caught the canary. "It's been too long, love." He said, glaring evilly at Zachary. "I'm glad you've come back."

"I'm not back. I told you before. I don't want you." She said, gripping Zachary's hand tighter.

He frowned. "What does he have that I cannot give you?"

"Jussi. Lakata. Me olla jklla vieras." Jyrki spoke up, standing from the couch and walking over. "Hello." He said to Salym and me.

I stared at him, falling all over myself on the inside. "H-Hell-o." I stuttered, gripping my best friend's hand.

She looked over at me with amusement and turned to him. "Hello. I'm Salym Proctor. This is my best friend, Ember Travers. We're here for her birthday. It was yesterday." She said to them.

Edward made a noise from behind us and stepped slightly closer.

Jasper and Emmett moved a little to our right to give our backs free space. Though, I don't know why, I'm sure they had reason to.

Jyrki smiled at me, "Happy birthday, Ember Travers." He said, taking my hand and kissing it softly.

I felt Edward move closer, so that he was standing next to me, a glare on his face to rival all others.

Jyrki looked at Edward and dropped my hand. "Forgive me. I wasn't aware that she was claimed." He said to him politely.

Inwardly, I melted at his voice.

"You'd do well to remember it." Edward stated harshly, snapping me out of my fictional puddle.

"I'm sorry, Edward. But I don't belong to anybody." I said, glaring at him.

"Sorry." He muttered insincerely.

Jyrki smiled at me again. "Would you like to have a tour around, Ember?" He asked me.

I looked at Salym, who was looking worried, but decided to ignore her, too. "Sure."

She grabbed my arm and pulled me aside. "Em, I think we should get outta here." She told me.

I gaped. "What? Say, this is what I've been dreaming of for the past several years. And you want me to leave?"

She nodded, glancing at the band members and seeing each of them staring back with a look of disgust. "It's not safe."

I pulled my wrist from her and backed up. "Listen, I'm tired of hearing that. Why can't I have any **real** friends who let me do what the fuck I want to rather than tell me what's best for me?" I asked angrily.

"Emb--" Elizabeth started.

"No. Shut up. All of you. I'm going to do whatever the hell I want and I won't hear another thing about it. Understood?" I asked them.

None of them answered, they all just stared in shock.

"Understood?" I asked again, slightly louder.

They all reluctantly nodded. And Elizabeth gave me a look that still haunts my dreams.

I huffed. "Good." I said, turning and heading for the door. "Jyrki, are you coming?" I asked.

He walked to my side as I got into the hallway. "That was most impressive." He said, smiling.

I smiled back. "Thanks. And sorry you had to see that. I've just had enough of their shit." I said, using the wall as support, so I didn't have to put so much weight on my ankle.

"What happened to your leg?" He asked.

"I tore my Achille's tendon yesterday trying to ski." I explained.

"That's horrible." He said, pulling me into his arms. "Is that better?"

I stared at him in shock. "Uh… yeah… But you don't have to carry me. I'm alright."

He smirked and shook his head. "It's not a problem." He told me.

"Put her down." I heard Edward's voice say from behind Jyrki's back.

We turned to see Edward staring the taller man down.

"What does it matter to you, little one? You've seen what she thinks, she wants it." Jyrki said coldly.

"I'm her protector, whether she wants it or not. You will put her down or answer to us." He said just as cold.

I looked up to see Emmett, Jasper, Elizabeth, and Zachary behind him. I groaned inwardly. "Go away guys." I said.

"No. Ember, we're leaving, right now." Elizabeth told me.

Jyrki froze, still holding me in his incredibly cold grip.

I looked up at him, he looked like a statue, and I realized that he had the same perfections as the Cullens and Hales. _Oh God._ I thought. _What is this?_

And as utterly retarded as I am, I blurted out the first question that popped in my head. "What are you?" I asked.

He looked at me and smiled, his slightly pointed canines glinting in the florescent lights above us. "What do you think I am?" He asked.

And it was then I started to freak out.

I thrashed and beat at him, "Let me go!" I shrieked, feeling the bone in my pinky give way to the stone-like being that held me, and I lost the ability to breathe when my back came in contact with the floor when he dropped me.

"Ember!" I heard someone shout.

"Get him!" Another cried.

I looked up to see Jyrki disappearing around a corner with Jasper and Emmett following. "Don't hurt him." I said, struggling to get my air back.

"Shut up, stubborn ass." I heard Elizabeth say.

"How could you bring her into this situation?" Edward berated as he picked me up.

I pushed him away and landed back on the floor without air again. "Fuck." I muttered.

"What'd you do that for?" He asked, trying to pick me up again.

I stood shakily to stop him. "Get away from me. Now. I'm going home and I never want to see you again." I told them between my attempts to catch my breath.

"Ember…" He started. "You're not thinking clearly."

"No. I'm thinking very clearly." I told him. "You're all freaks, and I will have nothing more to do with you." I said, leaning against Salym when she took my arm and put it around her neck. "Leave me alone."

And with that, we made our not so awesome exit out of the arena and to Salym's Shelby convertible.

* * *

A/N: Jyrki said **Jussi. Stop. We have guests. **(Loose translation)

Also, I know that SMeyer's vampires don't have fangs, but I like the more traditional way that they do. Otherwise, they'd have to rip people open to drink from them, and that's just silly. And another thing is that Elizabeth has the ability to manipulate people's thoughts.


	10. Come Back To Me, It's Almost Easy

"Hey, Em… You can go on break now." Rachel--an assistant manager-- told me, walking back into the front to be barista again.

I sighed and stood, throwing my scrub brush in the bucket I had next to me. I stood from where I had been scrubbing the floor and stretched.

I pulled my hat, apron, and name tag off, setting them on top of the Red Bull display we had in the back and walked out. "I'll be back in fifteen." I muttered, grabbing a timer and heading towards the back.

"Ember!" I heard, groaning inwardly.

"Go away. I said I didn't want to talk to you again. You've gone two weeks without it. I think you can handle the rest of my life." I said, not stopping.

"Ember, wait." He said, grabbing my arm.

I jerked away and turned to him. "Go. Away." I said, putting most of my weight on my right foot.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I have a broken rib, a bruised shoulder blade, and a torn Achilles tendon. How do you **think** I'm feeling?" I asked sharply.

He sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't think--"

"No, Edward. You didn't think. You fucking… I don't even know **WHAT** you did, but you and your freak family ruined my life." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

He narrowed his eyes in frustration. "We were trying to help you… To keep you safe."

"By hovering over me? How do you know that he was going to do anything to me? Hm? You've been around me for months and haven't done anything."

"He's different than us. My family and I don't feed on humans." He said, his voice low.

"Oh. Yeah. I believe that."

"We do! Dammit, Ember! Why are you being so stubborn?"

"Em, you okay?" AJ asked, walking over to us, seeing as how we were standing in the middle of the fiction section yelling at each other.

"I'm fine." I said, looking at the timer.

"I'm being stubborn because I don't want to see you anymore! I want you and your family to leave me alone. Get the hint, Edward." I said, turning to walk away from him.

He smirked. "You forgive me."

I turned, and laughed disbelievingly. "I do not."

"Yes you do. You just thought it."

I stopped. "One, I don't know if you're lying to me but for the sake of you not lying to me: Get out of my brain. And two, even if I do forgive you. I don't want to see you and I'm at work, so be gone." I said, knowing that I did forgive him made me even more pissed off.

He looked around. "Why do you work here?" He asked, picking up a thick black book with two hands holding an apple, "Twilight? That's a stupid book name."

I snatched it from him and placed it back on the shelf. "Yeah? The main character is a vampire. And a jerk just like you." I said, looking at the timer and sighing. "Great. Thank you. Now I have to go back to work and I didn't get a chance to sit down and rest myself."

He shook his head and scooped me up.

"Hey! Let me down!" I said, frowning.

"Em, you alright?" Rachel asked as we passed her.

"She's in pain from her broken rib and her heel… Is there any way I could take her to be examined?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Of course… We have enough people to cover her shift." She said, picking up the phone and dialing something.

I looked over at Rebecca. "Would you clock me out?"

She nodded and typed my number into the register. "I hope you feel better." She said with a sympathetic smile.

"Thank you." I said, just as the door closed behind us. "You're an ass." I said, sulking when he set me down in the passenger seat of my car.

"Yes, but I got you out of scrubbing more floors, didn't I?" He asked rhetorically, pulling off onto the road and heading for my house.

"And half a day's pay." I said miserably, watching the world zoom past.

"You don't need the money." He said, pulling up into the driveway of my house seemingly moments later.

"Uh.. Yeah I do… I'm seeing the bottom of my piggy bank right now." I said, getting out and limping towards the front door.

"No, I mean… We can pay for you." He said, following after me.

"I'm not a fucking charity." I said, walking into the living room to see all of the Cullens/Hales sitting around watching The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

"Hi, Ember." Elizabeth said sort of angrily and I wondered what I'd done to her.

"Hello, Elizabeth… Everyone." I muttered, sitting on the chair that Emmett vacated for me.

"I didn't mean it like that. I mean.. we're over here a lot.. We can pay for things." He said, sitting next to me.

"Right. Because you all eat so much." I rolled my eyes.

"Rent then?"

I shook my head. "I'm going to work, Edward."

"Working girl." Elizabeth said, smirking a little.

I frowned. "That isn't funny."

"So you'll quit?" He asked.

I sighed. "No."

"Please?"

"No, Edward."

"Please?"

I groaned and threw the pillow at him. "I'll go seasonal?" I bargained.

He nodded. "Alright."

I smiled smugly and leaned back, closing my eyes. "I hate you." I said to him.

"I know." He said with a smile in his voice.

"Stop acting smug. And seeing as how you're the one that caused my injuries, you're my slave. Get me orange juice." I said, not really expecting him to get up and get me a glass, but he did.

"Anything else?" He asked.

"Uh… no." I said, sniffing the juice as a precaution before taking a sip. "Hey, Emm… Where's Rosalie?" I asked.

He stared at the screen. "She's in the garage." He said.

I hopped up suddenly, running as fast as my limp would allow, bursting in to see her knocking a dent out of a car parked next to mine. I sighed in relief, and slumped into a chair. "Nice car…" I said, looking over the car.

"1967 Plymouth GTX Convertible." She said, looking over the engine. "Engine's in good shape. It's the body and the rag top that's the most messed."

I nodded. "New project?" I questioned.

"Edward asked me to." She said, sighing a little. "I couldn't pass up working on it."

"What does Edward want it for?"

"You said you could take my Volvo in the quarter mile… So I got something that I could compete with." He said, appearing beside me.

I looked over at him. "Fine. But if I win, I keep the car."

He stuck his hand out for me to shake. "Deal."

"No letting me win, either."

"I wasn't planning on it."

"Good."

**MEANWHILE**

"That's enough." James said, pulling the small girl from the dead body.

"He's going to be noticed if we don't break his face." She said stubbornly.

"You can't tell who he is. We have his wallet and clothes… No one will be the wiser." He said, pulling her into a fierce kiss.

She kissed back for a minute before pushing him away. "Victoria hates when you do that." She said, kicking the corpse in front of them before walking away.

"Victoria is no longer my mate, is she?" He asked, wrapping an arm around the small girl's shoulders and walking alongside her.

"It doesn't make it any better that you chose me over her, you know." She told him.

He nodded and smirked evilly. "Yes, well… What she doesn't know won't hurt her." He said, chuckling.

"So, where are we to go now?" She asked him.

"I'm thinking we should take a trip." He told her.

"Where?"

He grinned, kissing her cheek and dropping his arm to take her hand. "Come. You'll see in time."

She nodded and followed him. "Okay."


	11. I'm Not Your Enemy

A few weeks later and I was sitting in my room with Edward, Elizabeth, and Zachary, my CD rack on one side and two piles of CDs on another. "Are they vampires?" I asked, holding up my Matches CD cases.

"Yes." Edward said, a little annoyed.

"No. They are not. He's just being a jealous ass." Elizabeth told me.

"They are. Or have you forgotten about Shawn trying to bite you." He said, turning to her.

"That was most definitely not the type of bite he was trying to get, Edward."

I shuddered. "Alright… I didn't want to know that."

She just smirked and went back to pulling my Barbie dolls apart.

I looked at him. "Okay, I can't feel my legs." I said, standing and stretching. "I want to go for a jog. Anyone interested?"

They all looked up at me like I was insane.

"What?" I asked them.

"It's negative three degrees outside. Even with a jacket, you'd freeze to death." Zachary said.

I smirked. "I've been out in colder temperatures." I said, grabbing my jacket.

"Ember, I don't think it's a good idea." Alice said from the doorway, making me jump.

"Jesus, Alice! You nearly gave me a heart attack."

She smiled distractedly. "I'm sorry."

"What's wrong, Alice?" Edward and Elizabeth asked in unison.

"Nothing." She said automatically, smiling at all of them.

Edward's face paled, metaphorically of course, and he glanced at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." He said, standing and walking out of the room quickly, Alice at his heels.

I looked at Elizabeth. "What did I do?" I asked.

"He's weird. I'm sure it was nothing." She told me, starting to pick up all the decapitated Barbies and throw them in the trash bag I had up there.

I sighed and started putting my Cds back in vampire and non-vampire sections, then alphabetical order, then chronological within that.

"OCD much?" Elizabeth asked.

"Shut up. I've seen you do that to my DVDs downstairs." I stated, sticking my tongue out at her.

"Oh, go make out with Cullen." She said, walking downstairs with the trash bag, Zachary following.

I shook my head and finished my Cds, going down to see them all sitting in the living room chattering away so low I couldn't hear it.

I cleared my throat so they knew I was there, but they all just looked up at me and went back to talking amongst themselves.

I frowned and went to the pool table, racking up to play a game with myself.

"Ember?" A voice asked, standing next to me.

I tensed, hating when they did that, but not wanting to give any of them the satisfaction of scaring me. "Yes, Edward?"

"I think you should come to stay in our home for a few days." He said.

I turned my gaze to him. "Oh? So you can go on holding your little vampire conversations and leave me out?"

His mood turned sour. "We needed to discuss this. We weren't going to tell you unless we thought it the best decision."

"And why would I? Why can't I stay in my own home?" I asked, leaning against the pool stick.

"It's not safe here." He said plainly.

"But it's safe at your house?"

"Yes."

"Come on, Em. Don't be a big, dumb girl." Emmett said, grinning when I glared at him.

I looked at all of them and my anger started to fade, making me turn to Jasper, who I'd found out had the ability to control emotions. "Stop it, Hale." I said to him.

He frowned, but stopped what he was doing.

I looked at Edward. "I don't have a choice in the matter, do I?"

He smirked. "Not really."

I groaned. "Fine. But I want my car and my tools." I stated, going upstairs to pack.


	12. No More Nights, No More Pain

We turned onto the driveway of the house the Cullens (occasionally) called home. I looked around, seeing the thick cover of trees.

"Foresty much?" I asked, looking over at Edward.

"We like our seclusion." He stated, driving up the long concrete drive.

I leaned back in my seat and put my feet up on the dash. "I still don't understand why I have to come with you." I grumbled.

He sighed. "Because, Alice had a vision of some unsavory characters coming around, and we don't want you in danger." He said, reaching over and pushing my feet down. "Keep your filthy shoes off the dash."

I smirked and looked at him. "Princess Edwina doesn't like a little dirt?" I teased.

He glared and came to a screeching halt, sending my face into the spot of the car my feet had once been occupying.

I instantly grabbed my face and glared at him through the tears in my eyes. "You fucker!" I said, getting out of the car and holding my nose, making sure it wasn't bleeding.

"What happened to you, Travers?" Elizabeth asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Your asshole brother decided to slam on the breaks and he broke my nose." I told her. Once I was satisfied with the lack of blood from my nose, I looked at Edward, glaring at him.

"Your nose isn't broken." He said simply.

I rolled my eyes and headed to the garage, or what I assumed was the garage because of Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper pushing my car into it. "Stay the fuck away from me Cullen. I mean it this time. I've had enough of your love me, hate me attitude." I said, as I stormed off.

"Good job." Elizabeth stated, falling in step with me as I rounded the corner.

"Thanks." I said, gasping a little at the mechanic's wet dream known as the Cullen's garage.

"Like it?" Rosalie asked, smiling a little.

"It's amazing." I admitted, marveling over everything.

"What's mine is yours." She added.

I smiled. "Thanks." I said, grabbing a few tools from the tool cabinet and set to work on my Charger.

"We'll leave you to it, then." Jasper said, walking out along with the others.

I barely heard them as I set to work, stopping only for a moment once they'd left to remove my charm bracelet so as not to get it snagged on anything.

**AN HOUR LATER**

**[Edward's POV]**

As hard as I had tried not to let Ember's attitude get to me, I failed. As frustrating as she was, I couldn't help but admire how fearless she seemed to be.

We all knew she was afraid of us, but she never let it show. Not for a second. I was fascinated by that.

And as I laid in my room, thinking about how different she was from Bella, I felt something in the house change. Someone new had entered.

Just as the first dulcite tones of the piano got to my ears, I was standing in the doorway of the living room. "Ember?" I questioned, seeing the shimmer of light reflecting off the charm bracelet as she played.

She said nothing as the played. A song that I hadn't heard since before we'd left Forks.

I stopped my slow walk to the shining black instrument, a sudden realization dawning on me. And as I opened my mouth, only one word left it. "Bella?"

She looked up, her red eyes boring into mine. "Hello, Edward." She said mockingly, standing and snapping the clasp of Ember's bracelet. "This really is beautiful." She stated, looking at each charm.

I took a second to gather myself before I spoke. "You're dead." I stated.

She walked over to me, a smile on her face. "Yes." She admitted, reaching up to cup my cheek with her hand. "You worked so hard to try to avoid it, and here I am."

My eyes drifted shut and I reached up to cover her petite hand. "I'm sorry." I whispered.

"Get away from him." Emmett's voice commanded from behind me.

I turned to see Alice and Rosalie rush past and pull Bella from me. "Don't!" I cried.

They stopped to look at me.

"Edward… She's not like us," Emmett continued. "She isn't the Bella you knew."

"I am. I'm still Bella." She exclaimed, looking at me. "Edward?"

I looked down and picked up the broken bracelet at my feet, taking a moment. "Jasper.. Zachary… Go check on Ember." I said, looking at Bella. If I could have cried, I would've. To see my beloved Bella as a monster like me.

"Who is she?" Elizabeth questioned, walking into the room. She stopped beside me, turning to look at me.

I glanced at her, then back to Bella.

Her face lost is curious expression. The emotion quickly turned to that of sympathy. "Bella." She stated, turning to her.

Bella smiled. "And you are?"

"I'm Elizabeth Alexandra Lautrec-Dubois. And you are a pain in this family's collective ass." She stated, her arms crossed angrily over her chest and I could see the restraint with which she held herself.

Bella laughed. "I've done nothing to any of you."

I stopped Elizabeth from speaking again. "How did this happen, Bella?" I asked, war between bliss at Bella being alive and grief at the price she paid to keep her alive raging in my heart.

She pulled from Alice and Rosalie. "James. He was going to kill me, but he changed his mind and turned me." She explained briefly. "He thought that it would be worse for you to see me like this."

I said nothing. James was right, it killed me seeing her like this.

"But I escaped him. I came back to you." She said, taking a step closer to me. "I love you, Edward."

My jaw clenched as I caught his scent. "You lie!" I heard myself scream at her. "He's still here!" I shouted, seeing a whirl of motion as Emmett went to protect Rosalie, Alice and Elizabeth grabbed Bella, and I ran to the garage. I stopped, seeing James holding Ember with Jasper and Zacky broken and bloodied in a corner.

"Let her go, James." I said dangerously.

He grinned at me, his mouth still crimson with the blood of my brothers. "Now why would I do that?" He asked, his tone just as mocking as Bella's had been. "What makes her any different than Bella? Call this one a casualty. I brought you Bella back, didn't I?" His questions didn't make me feel any better.

"What's left of the Bella I loved is gone. You warped her to be like you. She's not the girl I loved." I growled, crouching slightly to spring at him.

"Do you love her," he asked, "or do you love that she's human?"

I refused to answer his questions, mainly because I wasn't sure of the answer myself.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock. Answer quickly, Edward. She hasn't got much time left." He said, shifting his grip slightly to show he had her by the throat and she was turning blue. "I'd say about two more minutes and there won't be any coming back for her."

"Either way you'll kill her." I stated. "Let her go and we can handle this. You don't need to kill others to get your revenge on me."

"Oh, but I already have. This is on the request of a dear, **dear** friend." He said, leaning back against the work table, Ember still in his grip. "You see, Bella wanted me to get rid of her oh, so obvious competition. If she's not competition, I was to let her go. But since you refuse to answer…" He tightened his grip and Ember's chest stopped moving.

I didn't think. I simply remember that I saw Ember stop breathing and all I could think about was saving her life. I jumped at James, but never found him. All that I held in my hands was the still body of the second human I'd endangered.

I heard the sounds of struggle and looked over to see Rosalie, Emmett, and Esme fighting with him.

"Edward!" Carlisle called out to me, looking into Ember's pale face as he dropped to a knee.

I glanced down at her. "She's dead. She has no heartbeat." I told him, suddenly in a rush of panic.

He took her from me and in a blur, he was gone.

I sat there motionless, staring at the place Ember had been, then at my hand and the imprint her bracelet had made into it. Even as the sounds of struggle stopped and shouts from my family reverberated in my head, I didn't look up. I couldn't. All I could think about was that I'd killed her. "I killed her." I whispered.

"No. James killed her. I killed her." Elizabeth said, helping Zacky to stand once he'd come to.

I finally glanced up at her. "No. I killed her. I loved her."

Esme knelt down next to me, pulling me into a hug. "Shh, Edward. What happened to Bella wasn't your fault."

I shook my head. Why did no one understand. Bella was gone. I felt no remorse over her. "Not Bella." I said, my throat closing. "Ember." I rested my forehead against Esme's shoulder. "I killed Ember."


	13. If I Was Perfect Then This Would Be Easy

**[Elizabeth's POV]**

We couldn't settle down after we'd made sure the pieces of Bella and James had been completely burned away and doused the fire. Not knowing that Ember was dead.

"You should sit down, Liz." Zachary told me, walking over and hugging me.

I shrugged away from him. "I can't." I told him, glad I couldn't cry. I hated crying in front of people when I was human and that fact still remained through my immortal life.

"Elizabeth, please," Esme started, looking up at me, "we're all upset. Your pacing isn't calming us. Please sit down." She requested.

I sighed and sat on Zachary's lap on the couch, looking at everyone. "Shouldn't someone go get Edward from upstairs? And Carlisle should be back by now." I said.

"Elizabeth…" Alice said, looking at me with a sorrowful expression. "Give him time."

I stood again. "Why didn't they just turn her? This isn't fair. She was our friend. Why couldn't we make her one of us?" I asked angrily.

"Because." Rosalie snapped. "We were protecting her from that. Just like Alice's vision warned us. We were to keep her from becoming like us."

"Not by letting her die!" I shouted.

Alice gasped softly, gazing off into space. "She's--"

Carlisle walked in before Alice could finish her sentence. "Yes, Alice." He said, looking more tired than usual. "She's alive."

I looked at him like he was crazy. "What?"

"She had a heartbeat, Edward was wrong. I got her to the hospital and we got her breathing again." He explained. "She had to have surgery to repair her damaged esophagus, but she's okay for the moment."

"What do you mean 'for the moment', Carlisle?" Emmett asked him.

"She was oxygen deprived for a long time… She's in a coma and we don't know how much damage there was to her brain." He told us. "Where's Edward?"

I nodded to the stairs and stood to follow him. "He locked himself in his room. I tried to get him to think of other things, but he wasn't having any of it."

He nodded in weary acknowledgement and started up the stairs at an almost human pace. I assumed it was to give Edward time to hear his thoughts and prepare himself.

Jasper looked up at the stairs and stood. "Something's wrong." He said, obviously having felt a wave of emotion from upstairs.

We all stood and made for Edward's room.

"What's wrong, Carlisle?" Esme asked, walking in first.

"Edward's gone." He told us plainly.

**[Edward's POV]**

I didn't want to think about it anymore. My love for Bella had been her death, and the same was true for Ember. I couldn't live with that fact. They had died at the hand of my enemy because I had been too cowardly to do anything about it.

I sat in my room and thought this over, looking at the boxes of my accumulated belongings that I had yet to unpack and shook my head.

In an instant I had made up my mind, and standing, I walked to my window and slipped out.

I took to the forest surrounding our home and took off in no particular direction. Pausing, I turned, needing to say goodbye. I walked to the smouldering pile of ash, gazing down at it for a long moment and turned, going into the garage for the last time.

I took in the sight of Ember's unfinished project, smiling a little at the memories of her hatred towards me, and the love that she didn't want me to know she had for me. And I knelt beside the cold concrete where she had taken her last breath, tracing the invisible outline of her face as last I remembered it. "I'm sorry." I whispered into the nothingness, hoping her soul lingered just a few moments longer to hear my apology. "Had I known…" I took a steadying breath. "If my thoughts hadn't been clouded by Bella… I would've seen him. I could've saved you." I said, closing my eyes tightly. "I love you, Ember Travers. And I hope that you will forgive me for not protecting you."

I stood, still holding her bracelet in my hand, and took off again.

I paid for a car in cash somewhere around Portland and started off for the last place they would ever think to look for me.

**[Elizabeth's POV]**

"What do we do?" Emmett asked, looking around at us.

We had all gone back down to the living room to come up with a plan.

Carlisle sat in silence, his distant eyes conveying that he was thinking of anywhere and everywhere Edward could've gone.

"We search." Zachary spoke up.

Carlisle nodded, coming back to us. "Rosalie, you will go to Alaska. Jasper, you will go to Forks. Zachary, you will go to Los Angeles. Elizabeth, Chicago. Alice, Volterra. Emmett, Antarctica…" He commanded.

"And you and Esme?" I asked, standing.

"Everywhere else." He said simply.

"And who's gonna stay with Ember?" Alice spoke up, looking at him.

He looked at Esme, who nodded in agreement. "That's settled then. Keep your phones on you at all times." He commanded.

We all agreed to and took off with hugs and kisses to our respective husbands/wives and hugs to our brothers/sisters.


	14. Demons They Follow Me

**[Elizabeth's POV]**

It had been three weeks since Edward disappeared and not one of us had found him. Ember had woken up and, though there was no brain damage other than the fact that she had lost a few motor skills like walking and the ability to hold her head up, she was still on a respirator and wasn't allowed to speak very much.

I was currently on my daily rounds, checking to see if Edward had gotten there sometime since the last round, when my phone started to go off. "Hello?" I greeted the other person.

"Liz." Zachary spoke, my heart lightening a little.

"Zacky." I greeted with a small smile. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. We've found Edward. Carlisle and Esme want you back in For Lewis as soon as you can get here." He told me.

I started for the airport before he'd finished his sentence. "Where is he?" I asked.

"New Orleans of all places." He told me. "You aren't going after him though. He's not himself. It's Carlisle and Esme's choice that they go together."

I sighed, hating that he knew me almost better than I knew myself. "Fine. I'll see you in a few hours."

"I love you." He told me.

"I love you too." I said, hanging up.

**[Esme's POV]**

Carlisle and I arrived at the airport in little over five hours, neither of us were able to keep our minds from contemplating the horrors that Edward had put himself through over this, and we only hoped that we got to him in time.

"Alice. We're here. Where did you see him?" Carlisle asked, instructing the cab driver towards the downtown area. "Thank you." He told her, hanging up the phone.

"He will be alright, Carlisle. Right?" I asked him, holding his hand tightly in worry.

He sighed. "I hope so."

"Who is it you're lookin' for, baby?" The thickly accented driver asked us.

"Our son. He ran away after he thought his girlfriend died." I explained vaguely.

The driver nodded. "My niece did that once. She slept in Jackson Square for a week before we finally found her… How long has he been missin'?"

"About three weeks now." Carlisle told him.

He nodded. "I would search there first. Kids always try to hide out there." The driver told us, dropping us off at the place Carlisle indicated, handing the man more money than the ride was worth. "Thank you."

We got out and started off, looking for the landmarks Alice had told us she'd seen. "Carlisle." I said, grabbing his arm to get his attention.

I'd seen Edward, leaning against a wall in an alley, and we quickly backtracked to get to him before he could get away.

"Edward." Carlisle spoke up, walking towards him slowly. "It's just us: Carlisle and Esme. We've come to take you home."

He stood there shakily, staring at us, his eyes still golden. "I'm not… Memories… Death." He said almost incoherently.

Carlisle shook his head. "No, Edward. Ember wasn't dead. She's alive. We saved her."

Edward's unfocused eyes landed on Carlisle's face. "No… She's dead. I saw it." He said weakly.

"Read my thoughts if you want. It's the truth. I wouldn't lie about it, Edward. You know that." Carlisle told him.

We both took a few steps towards him.

I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tightly to me. "She's alive, Edward. Trust us, please. Come back. See for yourself." I whispered, holding my fragile little boy in my arms.

He clung to Carlisle and I tightly as we made our way back to the street and found a cab to drive us towards the airport. "She's alive." He kept whispering over and over to himself, his body shaking slightly from lack of food.

"Can you drop us off here, please?" Carlisle asked the driver. "We'll just be a few moments." He said, taking Edward from the car and disappearing into an abandoned building beside a McDonald's.

I sat there silently until they came back and wrapped my arms back around Edward, who had quit shaking, but was still muttering to himself.

He said nothing to either of us until we got off the plane in Seattle, his eyes full of sorrow. "I'm sorry." He told us. "I didn't mean to hurt either of you."

"Shh, love." I soothed. "You were grieving. As long as you didn't do something you'll regret." I said, rubbing his back softly and got him into the back of Carlisle's Mercedes.

**[Ember's POV]**

I looked around at all the Cullens/Hales and Zachary, finally off the respirator, but still on oxygen until they could go back in and remove the scar tissue surrounding my esophagus, making it hard to breathe.

"You look like shit." Elizabeth spoke up, walking in.

I smiled weakly at her. "H--" I coughed. "Hello." I said softly.

"Just to let you know, you're lucky that I'm even here to see you. I'm putting every bleeding person in this hospital at risk just for you to experience my prescense." She said, hugging me. "I'm glad you're not dead." She whispered when no one was looking.

I smiled. "Where's… Edward?" I asked them finally.

They all looked at each other than me.

"You shouldn't be talking. You'll hurt yourself." Rosalie told me, flipping through the 10,000 baby names book she brought me.

I frowned and went back to doing my crossword puzzle, having finally regained the ability to hold my head up of my own volition.

I looked up when I heard a knock on the door, seeing Carlisle and Esme walk in, smiling at me. "Are you alright, Ember?" Esme asked as she hugged me.

I nodded softly.

"You shouldn't do that, you'll hurt yourself." Carlisle chastised.

"Ember?" Edwards voice said, followed by his body.

I swallowed with more difficulty than I ever thought possible. "You… look like hell…" I teased weakly.

He walked over to me slowly. "Yeah. I know." He said softly.

"I think we should give them a minute." Emmett said, ushering everyone out.

Carlisle whispered some instructions to Edward and walked out.

"I'm sorry, Ember." Edward said, sitting in the chair next to my bed.

"For… what?" I questioned through the oxygen mask.

"For all this. I should've protected you." He said, taking my hand.

I shook my head gently. "No. You… didn't do this…" I said.

"If Bella hadn't--"

I stopped him. "You… love her… I get it…" I started. "You… don't… have to explain… You saved… my life."

He stood, walking away from me. "No. I didn't. James asked me if I loved you. And if I'd have said no. You'd be okay now. You wouldn't have had to have your throat cut open."

I sat up. "I… don't blame you…" I took a slow, deep breath. "I… understand why you….."

He turned when I didn't finish my sentence, only to be greeted with my look of shock. "Ember?" He asked, rushing over to me. "Ember! Are you okay?"

I nodded, my breathing ragged, but no more than usual. "You… didn't… say no?" I asked, barely above a whisper.

He stood next to me in silence for a moment. "No. I didn't."

"But… You… had Bella." I said.

He nodded. "I had what was left of her. The Bella I knew was dead."

I looked away. "And I'm… just a re… place ment…. then."

He looked at me like I was crazy. "No, Ember. That's not it. I thought I'd lost you and that killed me more than losing Bella ever did."

I shook my head. "I… find that hard… to believe."

He took my hand again. "Maybe not. But I thought that losing you made me more of a monster than anything in my past ever did. I abandoned everything I knew. I was walking around like a zombie. I ran away. I need you around." He confessed.

I wiped my tears away with my free hand. "All scars fade… with time." I replied sagely.

"Not the one made by losing you." He said softly.

"How… could I ever… live up… to.. Bella?" I asked him, my eyes still shimmering with unshed tears.

"You don't need to. She was Bella. You are Ember. That's all I want you to live up to." He told me.

I sniffled painfully, pulling my mask off.

He backed up a little. "What are you doing?" He asked.

I grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him closer. "If you… don't… kiss me… now… I will… hurt… you.. Cullen." I said, smirking a little.

He smiled and leaned forward, pressing his lips to mine gently.

"It's about damn time! There's a surgery going on three floors down and I was about to take out all the nurses on this floor." Elizabeth said, walking in on our kiss.

Edward pulled my mask back down over my face and sat in the chair next to me again, smiling a little.

"You… are a great… moment… ruiner." I told her.

She just smiled and stole my crossword puzzle book, flipping to a new page. "I pride myself on that. Thank you."


	15. I Won't Be A Victim

I stood with Edward holding me around the waist, supporting most of my weight. "I think you're just doing this so I'll hold you." He told me, smirking a little as we rounded a corner of the hallway in the hospital.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes. I'm faking this, because I want you to sweep me off my feet and carry me around forever." I sighed overdramatically and went limp in his hands so that he would hold me up like I'd just swooned. "Save me, Edward Cullen! Save me!" I said laughing.

He chuckled and helped me to stand on my own. "You're such a child." He teased, turning to face me and taking my hands. "Now try to walk on your own."

I held his hands tightly and took a small step, then another. "My legs feel funny." I told him, willing my legs to stop shaking.

He sighed and scooped me up bridal-style, and carried me the rest of the way to my room. "I told you that a lap around the floor wasn't good for you yet." He scolded, laying me down on the bed.

"Yeah, yeah. Save it for someone who cares." I muttered, batting his hands away from pulling my blanket up over my legs again.

He sighed in exasperation this time and fell into the chair next to the bed. "You're so difficult."

I grinned. "Yes, but you're the one who fell in love with me first." I teased.

"I did not!" He said, looking affronted.

I leaned over and kissed him sweetly. "Shut up. I swear, for someone a thousand, you really are more whiny than I am."

He scowled and crossed his arms, leaning away from me. "I am not a thousand."

I smirked and leaned over, grabbing my book from the nightstand and flipping through it. "I still want to know why Rosalie got me this baby name book."

He stared out the window. "She still hasn't forgotten that you owe her your first born child."

I gaped at him. "That was a joke."

He turned his gaze to me. "The one thing Rosalie wants most in this world is a child. You shouldn't have bet it if you weren't going to, for lack of a better word, deliver."

I sat up and beckoned him over, moving over slightly so that he could sit next to me. "Or is it you want a baby with me?" I teased.

He shook his head. "We can't have children."

"What? Do you mean physically or is there some rule against it?" I questioned.

He shrugged a little, pulling me into an embrace. "I don't think there has ever been a vampire child. It'd be best to not test it."

I frowned a little, leaning against him.

He looked down at me. "It doesn't matter how cute you think our children will be. It wouldn't be wise."

I smacked him. "Don't read my thoughts!"

"Yeah, Cullen. Don't read her thoughts. No telling what sort of emotional scarring you'll get from them." Elizabeth stated, walking in and sitting in one of the chairs.

I stuck my tongue out at her. "Just because you're jealous of me, doesn't mean you can be rude."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm so jealous I can barely contain myself. I'm not about to be an incubator for a stranger's offspring."

I glared at her. "I will be having no one's child."

"But Cullen's." She said with an evil smile.

"No!" Edward and I said together, smirking a little.

She rolled her eyes again. "Wow. You can stop that at any time."

"Stop what?" I asked.

"That whole talking together thing you and Cullen keep doing." He explained, tossing the pencil at Emmett as he walked in.

"You know… there are several Cullens in your family, why call Edward 'Cullen'?" I questioned, passing Edward the book.

Emmett looked at me and then grabbed the TV remote.

She shrugged. "He was the first one I'd met."

I nodded in understanding. "That makes sense." I said, smacking Emmett and changing the channel.

He frowned and looked at me. "I was watching that."

I laughed. "It was America's Next Top Model."

He smiled. "Don't judge me." He stated, turning it back.

"Where is she?!" A voice screamed.

"S-She's in there." One of the mild-mannered nurses said.

"Ember Marie Travers!" I heard, seeing my friend storm into the room hell bent on finding me. "You!" She yelled, pointing at Edward, who took my hand.

"Say--" I started.

"No. Don't take up for him. He tried to kill you!" She screamed.

I sat up. "No. He didn't. He saved my life." I told her angrily.

She scoffed. "Yeah. Right. He leaves you to die in a hospital and runs off. That's real saving." She said harshly.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Edward was up and in front of Salym before I could form a word. "As you can see she bisn't/b dead and I'm back." He said dangerously. "You should leave."

She crossed her arms over her chest and put the weight on her back foot. "I'll stay, thanks. Like it or not she was my friend way before she was ever yours to snack on."

I stood. "Hey!" I barked. "No one is snacking on me. They're my friends just like you are. If you don't like that you're free to leave. If you want to stay you can." I told her.

Edward glared at her but walked over and caught me before I fell. "Are you alright?" He asked, helping me back into bed.

I nodded. "Yeah. It's progress, right?"

Salym looked at us. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Besides the smell of wet dog filling the room?" Elizabeth chimed in, making a face at the smell that wasn't there.

"It's better than smelling like being doused in sugar water." She retorted, walking over to me. "What's wrong, Ember?"

I looked at her and sighed. "When the guy who crushed my windpipe was cutting off my air, he left my brain oxygen deprived and I lost the ability to walk. It's only temporary. I just have to relearn." I told her. "And you two need to stop it and be friends." I said, looking at both Salym and Elizabeth.

Elizabeth scoffed. "Yeah. That's gonna happen. I can't be friends with a mangy mutt."

Salym glared at her. "I could kill you without a thought."

"Try it, pup." She said, standing up.

Salym made to stand and Edward stood between them. "This isn't about you two. Ember's still hurt and you two don't need to make this any harder on her. Now stop. Elizabeth, Emmett, I think we should go." He said.

I looked at him, then away.

"We'll be back. Don't be upset. We just won't be able to get along." He told me, kissing my cheek softly.

I shrugged. "Don't read my thoughts."

"Oh. This is making me sick." Salym said, looking actually physically sick.

I rolled my eyes and kissed Edward before he and his family walked out. "Don't make fun. I'm happy."

She made a face. "How could you love him? He's a creature."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "You are too, Say."

She looked shocked. "What?"

"You're a werewolf, aren't you?" I questioned.

"How did you know that?" She asked, gaping a little.

I shrugged again. "I just do." I sighed. "Say… You're my best friend. I love you like a sister. But they're also my friends. And I love them too. You have to get along with them. Or at least try. For my sake."

She made a face again. "You love them, or you love Ihim/I?"

"Both." I answered simply, turning the TV off. "I want all of you around. Especially if I birth a child."

"You're pregnant by that thing?!" She cried.

"No! Jesus, no. I'm thinking of being a surrogate mother for Rosalie." I explained quickly.

"Which one is that?"

I laughed. "The tall blonde."

"Oh. Why?" The look on her face told me she thought I was nuts.

"Because she can't have her own and I owe her and Emmett that. All of them, to be honest."

"Would you do the same for me?" She wondered aloud.

I looked down at my hands. "You know I would."

She shook her head so violently it made me look up. "No you wouldn't! You would never even think of having a child if they didn't ask it of you."

I stared at her in awe. "Things change, Say."

She held up a hand. "I don't want to hear anymore of your bullshit. You… are no friend of mine. You can't be as long as you're one of them."

"I'm not--"

"Save it, Travers. You're more one of them than you think. You're practically begging them to bite you. You make me sick." She said, walking out without another word.

I stared at the doorway for several long moments before I started to cry.

"Shh… Em… Don't cry." A soft voice whispered in my ear, holding me close to them.

I clung to him and sobbed. "I wish I never met any of you." I said through the tears.

His movements stopped and he looked at me. "What?"

I looked up, my eyes still brimming with tears. "I don't want to see any of you ever again. Leave me alone." I said, pushing Edward away and hiding under the blankets.


	16. Betrayed

I walked into school the week after, using a cane but otherwise okay. I went to first period and turned in my back work. I sat in my same chair and smiled sheepishly at Salym.

She smiled back. "You look good." She told me.

"Yeah. I know I look like shit. Thanks." I told her, pushing her shoulder playfully.

When I saw people walking into class, I looked up, seeing Edward and Elizabeth walk in and sit in the back of the room, away from everyone. I sighed a little and did my best to ignore them. "So what've you been up to?" I asked her.

She smirked. "I just hang out."

I nodded. "Me too."

The bell rang and we shut up, listening to the teacher talk to us about Senior preparations.

The rest of the day went by quietly. The Cullens/Hales kept to themselves, and I tried my best to ignore them. Every so often, however, I caught Edward looking at me and when our eyes met, he'd look away like he didn't know I'd been looking at him.

**A Few Weeks Later**

Lunches were nothing different than usual, except for the Cullens/Hales sat at their own table ignoring everyone and I sat with Salym and, today, her new friends.

Salym flagged me over, standing when I arrived at the table to introduce me to the two boys sitting with her. "Em. This is Pryce Graves and Adio Blood." She told me.

I shook each of their hands. "Audio like A-U-D-I-O?"

He smirked and shook my head. "No. A-D-I-O. Like the skate shoe."

My eyes widened. "Oh! That is so cool!"

He laughed. "I get that a lot."

I sat and bit into a French fry. "Do people usually tell you that your name is the title of one of their favorite songs?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Can't say I get that a lot."

I nodded and chuckled. "I thought not." I sipped my tea and looked at them. "So are you two… like Say?" I asked.

They looked at her and she gave them the 'it's okay' nod. "Yeah. We are." Pryce spoke up.

I gave Salym a look that she dismissed and started a conversation on how bad cafeteria food could be.

Salym and Pryce stiffened a little a few seconds later, making angry and sick faces.

"Ember." A voice said behind me.

I turned and looked into the eyes of Alice. "I thought I told--"

She stopped me. "You did. I just want to let you know that you may be able to turn your back on us. And Edward. But he will not be able to do the same with you."

I stared at her in shocked silence. "What?"

She sighed in annoyance, her posture conveying the same. "He loves you. He tried so hard not to, but he did. You know what he told you when he came back and you still did that to him."

Salym was at my side. "You should leave now, rodent." She said. "She's back to normal and she doesn't need you confusing her."

I looked at Salym. "Is that all I was to you?" I asked. "Someone needing to 'get back to normal'?"

She looked insulted. "Ember, you know that's not true. You're my best friend."

I held up my hand to stop her. "That's what I thought too." I said harshly. "How could you do that to me, Say? You know I was happy."

She shook her head. "No, Em. You were being influenced by Ithem/I. They're not your real friends. I am. Trust me."

I grabbed my bag and cane. "I don't think I will, Salym. You are more manipulative then they could ever be. At least they don't do it because they want me to themselves. They never once stopped me from being your friend. I should've seen who you really were when you wanted me to give them up for you."

She, once again, looked insulted. "Em."

"Shut up. I don't want to hear it anymore. You sit here with your mongrel friends and I'll go be with the people who actually care about me." I told her, walking away, Alice at my side.

Alice looked worried. "Ember. I didn't want it to come to that." She said genuinely.

"It's been a long time coming, Alice. I'm just glad it happened before I burned my bridge." I told her, stopping at the table.

The Cullens/Hales all looked up at me, most of them holding looks of hatred, but I ignored them, looking at Edward. "I'm sorry." I said simply. "I'm an idiot."

He looked over at the table holding Salym and her two friends, all of whom where glaring daggers at me and the table of my friends. "You were looking for an excuse to do that." He stated.

I gaped. "I was **not**!" I cried.

He smirked. "Yes you were. I heard it."

I frowned at him. "You are a bastard for reading my thoughts."

He laughed and pulled me into his lap, hugging me tightly. "I know, but I needed to know that you didn't really regret meeting us or loving me." He whispered.

I laughed and kissed him softly. "You're still a jerk."

He nodded in agreement. "I'll accept that."


End file.
